    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 30, 2004]
    [Pages 2858-2865]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Minneapolis, Minnesota
    October 30, 2004

        The President. Thank you all for coming. We appreciate you coming.
    Thank you all. Thanks for coming. Laura and I are
    honored so many came to say hello. We, first, want to thank you for
    lifting our spirits. How good does it get--Arnold yesterday, Mike Tice today. I'm
    proud to be introduced by a leader and somebody who's getting results.
    Thanks for coming, Mike. Laura and I are thrilled you are here.
        We are here to ask for your vote. We are here to ask for your help.
    It is close to voting time. That's the time when people in a free
    society do their obligations and go to the polls. We have a duty in this
    country to vote. I'm here to get your friends--I'm here to ask you to
    ask your friends and neighbors to do their duty. Get our fellow
    Republicans to the polls. Get wise independents to the polls--
    [laughter]--discerning Democrats like Mayor Randy Kelly from St. Paul, Minnesota, to the polls. I appreciate
    you, friend.
        The Democrat mayor of St. Paul is not alone.
    There are a lot of Democrats who, just like you, want America to be a
    safer, stronger, and better place. When you get people headed to the
    polls, remind them, if they want a safer America, a stronger America,
    and a better America, put me and Dick Cheney
    back in office.
        Perhaps the most important reason why people should reelect me is so
    that Laura is the First Lady for 4 more years.
        I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney. I
    don't want to offend anybody who is follically challenged, but I fully
    recognize that the Vice President doesn't have the waviest hair in the
    race. [Laughter] The people of this great State will be pleased to know
    I didn't pick him because of his hairdo. I picked him because of his
    judgment, his experience. He is getting the job done for the American
    people.
        I am proud of your Governor, Tim Pawlenty, and so are the people of Minnesota. I want to thank
    my friend and your United States Senator, Norm Coleman, for his leadership. I want to thank the Members of
    Congress who are here, Congressman John Kline,
    Congressman Jim Ramstad, Congressman Mark
    Kennedy, for their service.
        I want to thank Pat Anderson. I want
    to thank all the candidates running for office. I want to thank my
    friend Rudy Boschwitz for being such a strong
    and loyal supporter. I want to thank Gary Cayo,
    the president of the Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police, for his
    support and the support of the Fraternal Order of Police all across our
    country. I want to thank Billy Dean.
        Most of all, I want to thank you all. I want to thank the grassroots
    activists who are putting up the signs, making the phone calls, doing
    the hard work necessary to have such a big rally as this one. I want to
    thank you for what you have done and what you are going to do, which is
    to turn out that vote. No doubt in my mind, with your help, we will
    carry Minnesota and win a great victory in November. [Applause] Thank
    you all.
        This election takes place in a time of great consequence. The person
    who sits in the Oval Office for the next 4 years will set the course on
    the war on terror and the direction of our economy. America needs
    strong, optimistic, determined leadership, and I'm ready for the job.
        My 4 years as your President have confirmed some lessons and taught
    some new ones. I've learned to expect the unexpected, because war and
    emergency can arrive suddenly on a quiet morning. I've learned firsthand
    how hard it is to send young men and women into battle, even if it's the
    right cause. I've been grateful for the lessons I've learned from my
    parents: Respect

    [[Page 2859]]

    every person; do your best; live every day to its fullest. I've been
    strengthened by my faith and humbled by its reminder that every life is
    part of a larger story.
        I know how a President needs to lead. As Presidents from Lincoln to
    Roosevelt to Reagan so clearly demonstrated, a President must not shift
    with the wind. A President has to make the tough decisions and stand by
    them.
        In the last 4 years, Americans have learned some things about me as
    well. Sometimes I'm a little too blunt. I get that from my mother. [Laughter] Sometimes I mangle the English language. I
    get that from my father. [Laughter] But all
    the time, whether you agree with me or not, you know where I stand and
    where I intend to lead this country.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. You cannot say that about my opponent.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Consistency is not his long
    suit. [Laughter] The people of this country will vote next Tuesday. I am
    confident they will vote for consistency, for conviction, and for
    principle. And with your help, we'll win in November the 2d.
        This election comes down to five clear choices for America's
    families. The first clear choice is the most important because it
    concerns the security of your family. All progress on every other issue
    depends on the safety of our citizens. Americans go to the polls in a
    time of war and ongoing threats. The terrorists who killed thousands of
    innocent people are still dangerous and determined to strike. The
    outcome of this election will set the direction of the war against the
    terrorists. The most solemn duty of the American President is to protect
    the American people. If America shows uncertainty or weakness during
    these troubled times, the world will drift toward tragedy. This is not
    going to happen on my watch.
        Since that terrible morning of September the 11th, 2001, we've
    fought the terrorists across the Earth, not for pride, not for power but
    because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear--
    our strategy is clear. We've strengthened protections for the homeland.
    We're reforming and strengthening our intelligence capabilities. We're
    transforming our All-Volunteer Army. There will be no draft. We are
    determined. We are steadfast. We are resolute. We will stay on the
    offensive against the terrorists around the world so we do not have to
    face them here at home.
        Because we led, the world is changing. Afghanistan is a free nation
    and an ally in the war on terror. Pakistan is capturing terrorist
    leaders. Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests. Libya is dismantling
    its weapons programs. The army of a free Iraq is fighting for the
    freedom of its people. And more than three-quarters of Al Qaida's key
    members and associates have been brought to justice.
        So long as I'm your President, I will use every asset at our
    disposal to protect the American people, and perhaps the strongest asset
    we have is our belief in liberty, our belief that liberty can transform
    societies. I want the youngsters here to understand what has taken place
    in a brief period of time.
        It wasn't all that long ago in Afghanistan that young girls couldn't
    go to school because the country was run by the ideologues of hate
    called the Taliban. And if their mothers didn't toe the line, they were
    taken into the public squares and whipped and sometimes taken to a
    sports stadium and executed. Because this great Nation acted to defend
    ourselves, because we upheld the doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a
    terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist,'' millions of
    citizens--millions of citizens--voted in a Presidential election in
    Afghanistan. And the first voter was a 19-year-old woman.
        And America is better off as freedom spreads around the world. Iraq
    will have Presidential elections in January. Think how far that society
    has come from the days

    [[Page 2860]]

    of torture chambers and mass graves and the brutal rule of a fierce
    tyrant. Freedom is on the march.
        I believe everybody longs to be free. I believe deep in everybody's
    soul is the desire to live in a free society. I believe that not because
    freedom is America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's
    gift to each man and woman in this world.
        A President must lead with consistency and strength. In a war,
    sometimes your tactics change but never your principles. And Americans
    have seen how I do my job. On good days, on bad days, when the polls are
    up or the polls are down, I am determined to protect the American
    people.
        And I am the Commander in Chief of a great United States military. I
    want to thank those who wear our Nation's uniform who have joined us
    today. I want to thank the military families who are with us today, and
    I want to thank the veterans of the United States of America who've set
    such a great example. And I assure you and I assure our vets and our
    families and those men and women in uniform that you'll have the
    resources--the military will have the resources they need to complete
    their mission.
        That's why I went to the United States Congress and asked for $87
    billion of supplemental funding in September of 2003. That money was
    necessary. That money was important. We had troops in harm's way, and
    they needed the full support of the Government. And we received good
    bipartisan support, so strong that only 12 Senators voted against the
    funding----
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. ----2 of whom were my opponent and his runningmate. But as you
    gather the vote, I want you to remind people of this fact. Four Members
    of the Senate--only 4 out of 100--voted to authorize force and voted
    against the support for our troops in combat. Two of those four were my
    opponent and his runningmate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Now, they asked him why he
    made the vote he did, and you might remember perhaps the most famous
    quote of the 2004 campaign when he said, ``I actually did vote for the
    87 billion, before I voted against it.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I haven't spent a lot of time in the coffee shops in
    this great State, but I doubt I'm going to find hardly anybody who talks
    that way in Minnesota.
        He's given several reasons why he made
    that vote, but perhaps the most revealing of all was when he said, ``The
    whole thing is a complicated matter.'' [Laughter] My fellow Americans,
    there is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.
        The American people have been watching this election carefully, and
    they noticed my opponent's positions are kind
    of like the weather here in Minnesota. If you don't like it, wait a
    little bit, and it will change. [Laughter] He was for the war and
    against the war, for the war and against the war. But his record on
    national security has a far deeper problem than election-year flip-
    flopping. On the largest national security issues of our time, he has
    been consistently wrong.
        When Ronald Reagan was confronting the Soviet Union at the height of
    the cold war, Senator Kerry said that
    President Reagan's policy of peace through strength was making America
    less safe.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and President Ronald Reagan was right.
        When former President Bush led a
    coalition against Saddam Hussein in 1991
    because he had invaded Kuwait, Senator Kerry
    voted against the use of force to liberate Kuwait.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and former President Bush was right.

    [[Page 2861]]

        In 1994, just one year after the first bombing in the World Trade
    Center, Senator Kerry proposed massive cuts in
    America's intelligence budget, so massive that even his Massachusetts
    colleague, Ted Kennedy, opposed them.
    History has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong and--we've got to be fair
    about it--Senator Kennedy was right.
        During the last 20 years, in key moments of challenge and decision
    for America, my opponent has chosen the
    position of weakness and inaction. With that record, he stands in
    opposition not just to me but to the great tradition of the Democratic
    Party. The party of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and John Kennedy
    is rightly remembered for confidence and resolve in times of war and in
    hours of crisis. Senator Kerry has turned his back on ``pay any price''
    and ``bear any burden,'' and he's replaced those commitments with ``wait
    and see'' and ``cut and run.''
        Many Democrats in this country do not recognize their party anymore,
    and today I want to speak to every one of them: If you believe that
    America should lead with strength and purpose and confidence in our
    ideals, I'd be honored to have your support, and I'm asking for your
    vote.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. We have big differences about how to protect our
    country's families. I recall that moment in one of our debates when my
    opponent said that America must submit to a
    ``global test'' before we commit troops.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. As you can tell, that's kind of how I felt too.
    [Laughter] As far as I can tell, that means our country must get
    permission from foreign capitals before we act in our own defense. I'll
    work with our allies, and I'll work with our friends. I believe in
    building coalitions, and we have done just that. But I will never turn
    over America's national security decisions to leaders of other
    countries.
        We have differences of opinion, clear differences of opinion about
    this war on terror. Recently, my opponent said
    that September the 11th didn't change him much at all. That's what he
    said.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Well, September the 11th changed me. It changed my
    view of the world and how we must defend ourselves. I remember standing
    in the ruins of the Twin Towers on September the 14th, 2001. It's a day
    that will be forever etched in my memory, the sights and the sounds. I
    can remember those voices of the workers in hardhats yelling at me,
    ``Whatever it takes.'' I remember looking in the eye of a fellow who
    grabbed me by the arm, and he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since
    that morning--ever since that day, I wake up every morning trying to
    better figure out how to protect America. I will never relent in
    defending this country, whatever it takes.
        The second clear choice in this election concerns your family's
    budget. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to lower taxes
    for America's families, and I kept my word. We doubled the child credit
    to $1,000 per child to help the moms and dads in America. We reduced the
    marriage penalty. We believe the Tax Code ought to encourage marriage,
    not penalize marriage. We dropped the lowest bracket to 10 percent. We
    reduced taxes on everybody who pays taxes. And we're growing. This
    economy is getting stronger.
        Remind your friends and neighbors as you round them up to go to the
    polls--[laughter]--what we have been through. Six months prior to my
    arrival in Washington, the stock market was in serious decline, and then
    we had a recession and corporate scandals. And the attacks of September
    the 11th cost us about a million jobs in the 3 months following that
    fateful day.
        But our policies are working. We're on the path to growth. This
    economy is as strong as it's been in nearly 20 years. The homeownership
    rate is at an alltime high

    [[Page 2862]]

    in America. More minority families own a home all across this country
    than anywhere at any time in our history. Minnesota farmers are making a
    living. The farm economy is strong in America. The entrepreneurial
    spirit is strong. Small businesses are flourishing all across America.
    We've added 1.9 million new jobs in the last 13 months. The national
    unemployment rate is 5.4 percent. And let me put that in perspective for
    you: It's lower than the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the
    1990s. And the unemployment rate in Minnesota is 4.6 percent. We are
    strong, and we will get stronger.
        My opponent has different plans for your
    budget. He's going to take a big chunk out of it.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. You know, he voted against
    the child tax credit. He voted against marriage penalty relief. He voted
    against lower taxes. If he'd have had his way, the average family in
    Minnesota would be paying $2,000 more per year in Federal taxes.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Now, that probably doesn't seem like a lot to some of
    them in Washington, but I understand it's a lot for the families in this
    part of the world. It means a lot to people trying to raise their
    children. It means a lot to people struggling to put food on the table
    and meet their expenses.
        He's been in the Senate 20 years; he has
    voted to raise taxes 98 times. That's five times for every year in the
    Senate. I would call that a leading indicator--[laughter]--a predictable
    pattern. [Laughter] If you put that in this context, he promised $2.2
    trillion in new Federal spending. Now, that's trillion with a ``T.''
    That's a lot. Even for a Senator from Massachusetts, that's a lot.
    [Laughter] And so they asked him, ``How are you going to pay for it?''
    And he said, ``Well, we'll just tax the rich.'' You have heard that
    before.
        First of all, most small businesses around Minnesota and around the
    country pay tax at the individual income-tax level. See, most small
    businesses are Subchapter S or sole proprietorships. And by the way, 70
    percent of new jobs in America are created by small businesses. And so
    when you raise the top two brackets, you're taxing job creators. It
    makes no economic sense to tax the entities that are creating the new
    jobs in our country.
        And secondly, he has promised 2.2
    trillion, but raising the top two brackets only raises between 600 and
    800 billion. That's what I would call a tax gap, the difference between
    what is promised and what's delivered. Given his record, I think you
    understand how he's going to fill that tax gap. Yes, he's going to tax
    you. But we're not going to let him; we will carry Minnesota and win
    next Tuesday.
        The third clear choice in this election involves the quality of life
    for our Nation's families. A good education and quality health care are
    important to a successful life. As candidate, I pledged to challenge the
    soft bigotry of low expectations by reforming our public schools. And I
    kept my word. I proudly signed the No Child Left Behind Act to raise the
    standards. See, we believe every child can learn, and we expect every
    school to teach.
        We're spending more money at the Federal level, and in return, we
    expect measurement. See, you cannot solve a problem until you diagnose
    the problem. And as a result of the law we put in place, we are now
    diagnosing and solving problems. Math and reading scores are up across
    America, and we are closing an achievement gap for minority students.
    And we will not go back to the days of low expectations and mediocrity
    in our schools.
        We will continue to improve life for our families by making health
    care available and affordable. We will take care of the poor and the
    indigent by expanding community health centers. We have a duty to help
    people who cannot help themselves. And

    [[Page 2863]]

    that's why we'll make sure our program for children of low-income
    families is fully subscribed, to make sure people get the health care
    and the help they need. But I also recognize that most of the uninsured
    in America work for small businesses. And to help small businesses
    better afford insurance, we must allow them to pool risk across
    jurisdictional boundaries so they can buy insurance at the same
    discounts that big companies are able to do. We will expand health
    savings accounts to help our small businesses and families.
        And to make sure health care is available and affordable, we will do
    something about the junk lawsuits that are running up the cost of
    medicine and running too many doctors out of practice. We have a problem
    in this Nation. I have met too many ob-gyns that no longer practice
    because the premiums are too high. See, they can't afford to stay in
    practice. These lawsuits are driving them out of practice. I met too
    many patients, expectant moms who are traveling miles to find an ob-gyn,
    and they are deeply concerned about the quality of health care that they
    and their little one will receive. This is a national problem, and it
    requires a national solution. You cannot be pro-doctor and pro-patient
    and pro-personal-injury-trial-lawyer at the same time. You have to
    choose.
        My opponent has made his choice. He voted
    10 times against medical liability reform, and he put a personal-injury
    trial lawyer on the ticket.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I've made my choice. I'm standing with the doctors of
    Minnesota. I'm standing with the patients of Minnesota. I'm standing
    with the families of Minnesota. I am for medical liability reform.
        My opponent has a different view when it
    comes to health care. In one of the debates, I remember the questioner
    said, ``Tell me about your health care plan.'' He looked square in the
    camera, and he said, ``My health care plan, well, the Government doesn't
    have anything to do with it.'' I could barely contain myself. [Laughter]
        The Government has got a lot to do with it. Eighty percent of the
    people, according to his plan, would be signed
    up by the Government. If you raise Medicaid and make it easier for
    people to get on Medicaid, it provides an incentive for small businesses
    to stop writing insurance because the Government will write the
    insurance. And when the Government writes the checks, the Government
    makes the rules. And when the Government makes the rules for your health
    care, the Government makes decisions for you and they make decisions for
    your doctors. The wrong prescription for American families is to
    federalize health care.
        In all we do to improve health care for our families, we will make
    sure that the decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by
    officials in Washington, DC.
        The fourth clear choice in this election involves your retirement.
    Our Nation has made a solemn commitment to America's seniors on Social
    Security and Medicare. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised
    to keep that commitment and improve Medicare by adding prescription drug
    coverage. I kept my word. Medicare needed to be modernized for our
    seniors. We would pay thousands of dollars for a heart surgery under
    Medicare but not a dime for the prescription drugs that could prevent
    the heart surgery from being needed in the first place. And that wasn't
    fair to our seniors. So I brought people together, and I proudly signed
    a Medicare reform bill that will make prescription drugs available for
    all our seniors beginning in 2006.
        And we will keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors, and
    we will strengthen Social Security for years to come. I want you to tell
    your friends and neighbors about what took place in the 2000 campaign.
    You might remember those ads and the fliers when people said, ``If
    George W. gets elected, the seniors will not get their checks.'' Well,
    tell them

    [[Page 2864]]

    George W. did get elected, and the seniors got their checks. And the
    seniors will continue to get their checks. And baby boomers like me and
    a couple others out there I'm looking at--[laughter]--will get their
    checks. The Social Security trust is in good shape for us.
        But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren. We
    need to worry about whether or not the Social Security system will be
    available when they need it. And that's why I believe younger workers
    ought to be allowed to take some of their own payroll taxes and set up a
    personal savings account, an account that will earn a better rate of
    return, an account they own, an account the Government can never take
    away.
        My opponent takes a little different point
    of view on this. First, he said he'd protect Social Security, but he
    forgot to tell the American people he's voted eight times to tax Social
    Security benefits.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. See, he can run from his
    record, but we're not going to let him hide. And he has offered nothing
    to help the younger generation when it comes to strengthening Social
    Security. See, the job of a President is to confront problems, not to
    pass them on to future generations and future Presidents. I'm going to
    bring people together, and we will work to make sure the Social Security
    system is strong and viable for generations to come.
        The fifth clear choice in this election involves the values that are
    crucial for our Nation. We stand for things. We stand for the
    appointment of Federal judges who know the difference between personal
    opinion and the strict interpretation of the law. We stand for marriage
    and family, which are the foundations of our society. I'll reach out to
    Americans of every belief and move this goodhearted Nation toward a
    culture of life. We believe in a culture of life. I proudly signed the
    ban on partial-birth abortion.
        My opponent--Senator Kerry has had a
    different view on these issues. He voted against the ban on partial-
    birth abortion. He voted against the Defense of Marriage Act and, at one
    time in his campaign, actually said that the heart and soul of America
    can be found in Hollywood.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. The heart and soul of America is found in communities
    all across the great State of Minnesota.
        All these choices make this one of the most important elections in
    our history. And the decision is in the best of hands. It is in the
    hands of the American people. In less than 72 hours, the American people
    will be voting, and the decision comes down to who do you trust.
        Audience members. You!
        The President. I stand--I offer leadership and results for a time of
    threat and challenge. I'm asking for people's votes. I'm asking for
    their trust. I'm asking for your help. I have a view of the future that
    is bright. I see clearly where I want to lead this country, and it is to
    a better day.
        One of my favorite quotes was written by a fellow Texan named Tom
    Lea. He said, ``Sarah and I live on the east side of the mountain. It is
    the sunrise side, not the sunset side. It is the side to see the day
    that is coming, not to see the day that is gone.'' During this campaign,
    my opponent has spent much of the time talking
    about the day that is gone. I'm talking about the day that's coming.
        I see a great day coming for America. I see a day when prosperity
    reaches every corner of our country. I see a day where every child can
    read and write and add and subtract. And I see a day in which this world
    becomes more peaceful by spreading liberty, that we achieve the peace we
    all want for our children and for our grandchildren.
        When I campaigned across your State 4 years ago, I made this pledge:
    If I got elected, I would uphold the honor and the dignity of the office
    to which I had been

    [[Page 2865]]

    elected. With your help, with your hard work, I will do so for 4 more
    years.
        God bless. Thank you all for coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:17 p.m. at the Target Center. In his
    remarks, he referred to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California; Mike
    Tice, head coach, National Football League Minnesota Vikings; State
    Auditor Patricia Anderson of Minnesota; former Senator Rudy Boschwitz;
    entertainer Billy Dean; and former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.